Just about 50 Days left! Big shout out to our photogs (photogs?)! We had a great time with Tara + Angie Photography, capturing some pretty awesome moments. We hope to share more moments with you on the big day.

Currently soaking in this passage from Ephesians 5:15-20 (ESV)

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ."

Well, here we are at the 100 day mark! Is it wrong that I am not that stressed about the fact that I’m getting married in about 2 1/2 months??? Well, to be honest, I’m more excited than stressed! Anyone who understands the daily choir director struggle of corralling 300 teenagers knows that stress is an every day thing! You can either let it ruin your day or turn it into motivation :) So, my logic is that a one day event with 180 of my favorite people on earth couldn’t be that bad! Right? Haha. I’m sure I will eat my words in the near future.

We’re not stressed, promise ;)

Ya’ll. I can’t express how excited I am for this new chapter of my life. God is so gracious. It seemed like just yesterday that we were talking and making things official. The more days and months that go by I realize the Lord’s working through all of it. I just want to take a little moment to reflect and brag/boast about a few wonderful things about our relationship that God has orchestrated.

Our first selfie together at Passion 2014.

God’s timing is truly perfect. For those of you who don’t know, I didn’t date anyone before SP. I decided early on that I didn’t want to date. While I was curious, I wanted to save that whole part of myself for that one person. But no lie: the loneliness got real as I got older. I was 25 when we met. I had graduated at 24 and was working my first teaching job, and while I kept myself very busy, at times, I would stop and ask the Lord about the next step. “Ummm... Okayyy, Lord, whenever you want to send him, go ahead! I’m done with school now, so I can commit to a relationship.” My parents and grandparents threw shade every now and then: “You can get married now!” “It would be nice to have some apos (grandkids.)” I felt the pressure, but I knew it had to be the man the Lord had created for me. Passages from John Piper’s book, Don’t Waste Your Life, and Lecrae’s Rehab were constantly cycling through my head. If I was really living for Christ, I wouldn’t waste my time looking, because God had already found him.

The night that we met was actually in the middle of a very difficult time in my life, and so many things in my life were taking a huge shift. The last thing on my mind was a relationship, and I believe that was the Lord’s plan. Months passed before I saw him as someone I was interested in, and I was in a much better place spiritually and emotionally. Everything happened naturally. There was no rush to tell the world that we were official and declaim our singleness! If you’re a young person waiting on the Lord, it is always worth the wait.

Where we held a conversation for the very first time.

We don’t fight. While our relationship isn’t perfect and we disagree about things, I can honestly say that we have never fought since we’ve been together. I can’t count how many times people told us, “Oh, the first year is so great... Then you start showing who you really are and start fighting.” I think the key to this is that we know we are tethered together, and arguing is more like fighting yourself. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate any kind of conflict. I’d rather not engage. But since I’ve been with SP, I’ve slowly learned how to truthfully express my feelings (especially when I’m angry! or hangry... lol) and that’s been a major blessing of our relationship. The Lord gave us each separately peace in our hearts that we were meant to be together. We know we’re together for the long run, and that keeps us from hurting each other.

I love you, babe! Lol

Same but different. Even though we come from very different backgrounds, most days I feel like SP and I were cut from the same cloth! We both thrive on great music and art. We both love food, especially if the restaurant/packaging is well designed. We share a love for all things New York City. Even if those things were all different between us, the most wonderful thing is that we share the same heart of serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

Us in NYC for a missions trip.

All that being said, God’s grace and mercy is evident in our lives. We are far from perfect and definitely not scar-free from our pasts. But God has done great things in our lives separately and together for His glory. We can’t wait to start working together as husband and wife for His kingdom.

Happy New Year from the both of us!

2016 is finally here and it is surreal how fast time has passed! I checked my wedding app today and we’re only 150 days away! What? Crazy! Y’all. I am so excited for the wedding and for married life with my soul-twin. Here’s an update in a nutshell:

Checklist HELP:

At the same time that all of this is going on, I am trying to also to be “present” in real life -- doing things well at work and having real, quality time with family and friends. Definitely not easy. But the Lord has taught the both of us so much in the past couple of months about what is going to be most important as we step into this new stage of our lives.

It’s about the marriage, not the wedding.

When SP got down on one knee, he asked me, “Will you be my wife?” This caught me off guard as I was expecting the usual “Will you marry me?” I guess it’s so much easier to say “yes” to a gigantic party with all of your friends than to actually work together as husband and wife! I’ve been trying to keep this in mind whenever I browse through Pinterest or wedding magazines. The wedding day is the first day out of many… I have to constantly remind myself of that!

Trust in the Lord’s plan.

About two months ago, the company that SP worked for unexpectedly had to be shut down. The first month, we were pretty optimistic that a new job would pop up right away and there would be no problems. Weeks passed and worry took over my heart, because of all of the plans we had made for the wedding, for the holidays, etc. But the Lord has been teaching us patience and trust in His timing. We can make so many grand schemes but He ultimately knows what is best for us. After several interviews with different employers, He provided SP with a new job with a great company last week! Thank you to everyone who prayed for us.

Be open.

Before I was in a relationship with SP, I considered myself a pretty independent little person. Don’t ask for help. Don’t complain or beg for advice. I still struggle with this so badly, but SP has a way of drawing me out! I’m learning. It’s hard. But communication is always worth it and we grow closer together when there is honesty.

That being said, we welcome any and all advice ya’ll married couples have for us! Coffee double-date, anyone? Let us know. Thanks for checking in on us… Going to make it a point to post more often. Love ya’ll.

As we all know, weddings ain't cheap. Sarah and I have opted to print the invites ourselves instead of dropping Benjamin's on a printer. Of course we underestimated how challenging it would be. Sorry for the delay guys! We'll mail them out soon -- we promise!

Many of you may know us individually but maybe have never heard our love story before. When did we meet? How did we meet? What helped us know for sure we were "the one" for each other?

At the end of Summer 2012 I was transitioning to Dallas after calling Houston home for several years. There was an opportunity for me to move out to Dallas and after weeks of wrestling in prayer, I felt a peace and a calling to relocate. Surprisingly the distance didn't keep me from going back to Houston to visit.

Sarah and I met shortly before my move at an event called Worship Project. Let's just say that it definitely was NOT love at first sight. But it was then that I met the rest of the "Sibay-lings" (get it? Sibayan / Siblings ...) and became friends with Abby and Josh -- Rachel wasn't born yet, just kidding. Out of those friendships and our musician circle, we started fellowshipping and getting together more to worship. At this point I had no idea Sarah was "the one" but I had always secretly wanted a wife who I could worship with and if she played an instrument that was icing on the cake. I eventually found out that Sarah was a worship leader, Assistant Choir Director and pianist. Interesting.

Oddly enough, every time I saw Sarah it was either at a worship event or evangelizing at different places with Josh, Abby, Rachel and peeps at Grace Abounds. Honestly there was no attraction, and I thank God that he developed a friendship in us first before we began pursuing one another. We never really spoke much whenever we saw each other, just cracking jokes with Josh and small talk here and there. Until I found out she made macarons! #gamechanger. I would order a lot of them! "Fiddy" at a time. She was raising funds for a mission trip to the Philippines and I thought that was a really creative idea. Making macarons is not like making cookies or toast. It takes time, it takes diligence, it takes "flavors". Slowly I was taking notice of not only the kind of faith Sarah had but her character as well.

Grace Abounds Church hosted "Psalm 151", another worship event, and it turned out really great. It was my first time hearing Josh preach the good news at an event with Luke. From a distance I admired the Sibayan's and their hearts to serve the Lord in different capacities. My heart too was for sharing the Gospel and serving the church. Again -- interesting.

One night we were having sushi at Hokkaido and it was there that Sarah and I held a conversation for more than 5 minutes. Finally. Sarah was sharing her passions with me and we talked about Sunday School and laughed a lot. I think it was then that Sarah really caught my eye and everyone else started waging bets -- casting lots. We had so much in common and it was really hard to walk away and say good night after that.

Ultimately God's choice is the best choice for all of us and that may not happen sooner than we would like and I can't say there is a magic formula but the wait was truly worth it.

Fast forward to our first "real phone date", we talked for hours until it was pretty much time to go to work! I remember literally rolling on my floor laughing (had not purchased a bed yet) from all the dumb jokes. I've spent hours on the phone before but there's something really special about Sarah. We were learning so much about each other and it was tons of fun. Side note: if you were awake late at night you may have caught our random Facebook posts, calling each other "Poopoo Head" and "Poopoo Face". Too late to apologize?

Inevitably there was a decision we knew we both needed to make. At this point the feelings were obviously mutual and we really wanted to keep this going. At the same time we didn't want to allow emotions to misguide us like the past. We prayed a ton and asked our close friends and family for accountability. We prayed for clarity, confirmation and peace. We weren't interested in rushing into a relationship. When you're on the "single boat" there's a tendency to foolishly rush into things without establishing healthy boundaries -- basing our pursuit on attraction only, often times on a whim because it "feels right". We wanted to be extra cautious. We wanted to guard our hearts. We both agreed that moving forward into a relationship must result in marriage. Otherwise we were trusting in ourselves more than depending on Christ. It certainly goes against today's culture to even think about marriage before years in a committed relationship but Sarah and I believe that having the goal of marriage as the focus, dictates how a relationship would develop. It wasn't just about finding our "bae" but securing our "forever bae". Relationships are not about compatibility but knowing you're with the person God chose for you. Compatibility is just a game of mixing and matching, chasing after a "type of person" instead of "the person" meant for you. Additionally relationships are not supplementary but complimentary. We do not fill one another's voids. Rather God is the one who fills all that we lack as He merges two into one. Ultimately God's choice is the best choice for all of us and that may not happen sooner than we would like and I can't say there is a magic formula but the wait was truly worth it. We both have struggled to fill this impossible image of our perfect spouse and it's humbling to discover God revealing to us that we are indeed "the one" for each other. We did what naturally came next. We made it Facebook official on my birthday weekend last year.

Since then, we've really enjoyed every minute we've spent together, continuing on this life-long journey of learning who we are as individuals and who we will become together. It's rare to spend more than a few hours with each other at a time and sometimes there are weeks in between those few hours. Long distance relationships are tough. You can't hold hands over the phone or steal each other's food. Time is something we both really cherish, especially time with the family, church family and friends. God has been teaching us patience, trust, and reminding us that His grace is absolutely sufficient. We don't want to waste the time we've been given but rather capitalize on that time by glorifying God together at all costs, even if it goes against our personal preferences.

This past July, we served together on missions in New York City. At the end of our trip I asked Sarah to be my wife on the Brooklyn Bridge and she said "Yes!". I cried like a baby but whatever, it was a joy to be surrounded by people we love, celebrating what God is doing in our lives. We're so excited for marriage and anticipating great things as this love story continues to unfold. Thank you all for your prayers and support! Please keep praying and sending us scripture, encouragements and godly advice!

Hello familia and friends! Our sincerest apologies for the delay in “official” Sparah wedding media and the like. At work, we have integrated this new-ish concept of the “Brain Break.” We just stop whatever instruction is going on and for a few minutes we do something utterly unproductive and that doesn’t require too much effort. So, without further ado, this is my “Brain Break” (even though, blogging does take more effort than trying to eat a cookie off of your forehead without using your hands.)

Life has been pretty non-stop since Mr. Pathipphanith asked me to be his wife that faithful day of July 30th! By the way, thank you all again for your well wishes and prayers! I still pinch myself when I think about that day. God is so good.

Between the both of us, we have about five to six jobs, haha. No joke… There are our not-so-typical day jobs (1, 2) and our church jobs (3, 4) and SP’s freelance work (5) and wedding planning for the both of us (6!!!) But amidst it all, we are learning to survive *and* savor this very joyful season of our lives.

Even if our brains are not completely put together. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve misplaced my phone or keys or coffee cup this week. And it’s only Tuesday guys. To top today off, a very very important mentor dropped by the office for a meeting, and I tried not to bring attention to the fact that I didn’t have shoes on. Luckily, I had cute *matching* socks on...

Struggle. Anyways…

We checked off a bunch of big things off our wedding checklist pretty early (hi-five!) I absolutely love our reception venue (hint: it’s part art museum… so us.) I also said “yes” to the dress at a Breast Cancer fundraising event back in August. Five out of six of my bridesmaids have their dresses -- they are super pretty! Oh my gulay. Can’t wait to see them all together! We are now are working on registry stuff and save-the-dates. By the way, I must say that I LOVE my graphic designer. He is pretty amazing!

Speaking of “struggle”... I am learning more and more things about myself, especially under stress. I’ve always been a fairly independent person, AKA I hate asking for help. I take pride in my work. But sometimes, too much pride! Thankfully, I have an honest fiance and feisty bridesmaids who won’t let me get away with a do-it-ALL-by-yourself wedding. So, friendships… when I text you or call sometime in the near future, yes, it is because I need something from you. At least your address, so I can send the save-the-dates ;)

By the way, if you know of a lovely Christian church within or close to the loop wherein we might say our vows, we are still looking!